In the USA, the host of a YouTube channel about upbringing was convicted of child abuse – News

Jodi Hildebrandt (left) and Ruby Franke (right)

Screenshot from YouTube

In the United States, blogger Ruby Franke, who ran a YouTube channel about raising children, was sentenced to four terms in prison for the cruel treatment of her own children with aggravating circumstances.

Before the revelation, the woman had 2.3 million followers, The Guardian and the BBC reported.

42-year-old Ruby Franke from the American state of Utah was arrested in August last year. This happened after her emaciated 11-year-old son, with open wounds and bandaged with tape, climbed out of the window of the house to ask for food and water from a neighbor. Later, Franke’s 9-year-old daughter was found in the same condition.

After the arrest of the blogger, her eldest daughter, 20-year-old Shari Franke, shared an image of the police on Instagram with the caption “Finally”.

Before her arrest, Franke and her children lived with Jody Hildebrandt, the owner of a self-improvement consulting business. The women worked together to create a video with parenting and relationship advice.

According to the prosecutor, Franke regularly denied her son and daughter food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment.

In December, Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated child abuse.

Both women were sentenced to four terms ranging from one to 15 years. Sentences will be served consecutively. How much time they ultimately serve will be determined by the parole board.

During her sentencing, Franke apologized to her children, saying she “believed that dark is light and good is bad.”

“For the past four years, I chose to follow advice and guidance that led me astray. My distorted version of reality remained virtually unchecked as I isolated myself from anyone who challenged me.” said Franke.

Hildebrandt, in turn, wished the children “physical and emotional healing.”

“One of the reasons I didn’t go to court is because I didn’t want them to go through an emotional experience that could hurt them. I hope and pray that they will heal and move forward to have a wonderful life”, she said.

Even before the arrest, some viewers complained about Franke to the law enforcement agencies. In particular, in 2020, Child Protective Services received reports that the blogger’s son, Chad, who was 15 at the time, had been sleeping on a bean bag for seven months.

Franke’s lawyers argued that Hildebrandt was to blame for the situation, allegedly “systematically isolating” her from her family, which caused their client to adopt a “distorted sense of morality.”

We will remind, according to the survey, 75% of Ukrainians believe that outsiders should respond to family violence against children.